Côte d'Ivoire - Economy

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GDP per capita – 1712 US dollars (2018, at current prices, UNCTAD).
GDP – 42,9 bln US dollars (2018, at current prices, UNCTAD).
GDP - gross domestic product

Exports (marchandise) – 12,3 bln US Dollars (2018, at current prices, UNCTAD).
Imports (marchandise) – 11 bln US Dollars (2018, at current prices, UNCTAD).

Exports (services) – 1 bln US Dollars (2018, at current prices, UNCTAD).
Imports (services) – 3,2 bln US Dollars (2018, at current prices, UNCTAD).

Main export commodities - cocoa, coffee, timber, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, fish.
Main import commodities - fuel, capital equipment, foodstuffs

Côte d'Ivoire is one of the few African countries with dominated export in the trade balance. There is a well-developed agriculture. It is one of the largest producers and exporters of cocoa beans (1st place in the world), coffee; since the 1960s. one the largest producers of palm oil among the African states. There is a relatively good infrastructure. The oil and gas industry are growing, there are significant foreign investments.
At the core of the economy is a private form of ownership. Most mixed enterprises are controlled by foreign capital (mainly French).

Economy overview
Côte d'Ivoire has been a business and transportation hub for the entire West African region since the early 1960s.
After the end of the 2011 civil conflict (2002-11), Côte d’Ivoire’s economy has rebounded sharply.https://www.export.gov/article?id=Cote-d-Ivoire-Market-Overview Since 2012 Côte d’Ivoire’s economy has grown strongly, averaging 9% per year and has experienced a boom in foreign investment. This helped to reduce poverty.
In June 2012, the IMF and the World Bank announced $4.4 billion in debt relief for Cote d'Ivoire under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. During the period 2012-16 Cote d'Ivoire's growth rate has been among the highest in the world. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/iv.html
Since 2012, the economy of Côte d'Ivoire has turned in a stellar performance, marked by a rapid increase in GDP that has triggered the beginnings of a reduction in poverty.
Following a credible and peaceful election in October 2015, in which President Ouattara was overwhelmingly reelected to a second term, a new constitution was adopted in November 2016 through a referendum that created a new executive position of Vice-President and a upper chamber of parliament – Senate. The president, the vice-president, two-thirds of the Senate are elected simultaneously with the parliamentary elections, and the remaining third of the Senate is appointed by the elected president.
For the 2016-2020 period the Government adopted a new National Development Plan (NDP) designed to transform Côte d'Ivoire into a middle-income economy by 2020 and further reduce the poverty rate. http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/cotedivoire/overview
The NDP aims to boost sustained and inclusive growth through large infrastructure projects, driven by the private sector. With this plan based on the lessons learned from the implementation of the previous one, Côte d’Ivoire hopes to structurally transform its economy and achieve emerging market status in 2020. https://www.export.gov/article?id=Cote-d-Ivoire-Market-Overview
From 2016 into the early stages of 2017, Côte d’Ivoire’s economic growth ranked among the most robust on the African continent. But there are indications the economy is running out of steam, most evident in the continued slump in cocoa prices in global markets.
http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/cotedivoire/overview
In 2017 the economy has faced headwinds with soldier mutinies, a drop in the price of cocoa, and public sector strikes. However, the IMF in its April 2017 mission predicted continued strong growth in the range of 7 to 8 %. Additionally, in April 2017 the World Bank named Côte d’Ivoire one of the most resilient economies in Africa.

Public and private investments in infrastructure have contributed to the extension of Abidjan’s port and expansion of the transportation network. Improvements in the business environment include a one stop shop for registering businesses, the implementation of a single user identification number for business creation and tax payment, online submission of complaints to the Commercial Court of Abidjan, publication of rulings from the Commercial Court, and electronic land registration. The government’s impressive track record also includes the implementation of new codes on investment, electricity, and mining. The new mining code was a key factor for the country to accede to both the Kimberley Process (UN-approved scheme to prevent the arrival of blood (or conflict) diamonds on the market, i.e. illegally obtained and financing illegal arms purchases for insurgent groups in West Africa) and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
Despite the impressive economic track record over the past few years, investor challenges remain. Côte d’Ivoire suffered its first terrorist attack in March 2016 on the beaches of Grand Bassam, for which Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility. The Ivoirian forces responded very quickly, however, showing that their capacity has improved over the past few years. Soldier mutinies in January, February, and May 2017 renewed worries about stability, but the government managed to placate the soldiers by acceding to part of their demands and promised to refocus efforts to reform the military.

Investors continue to complain about the lack of transparency in government decision-making. In January 2017 however, the government made important changes to the composition and makeup of the cabinet in order to improve performance and governance. Efforts are underway to reform the commercial court system, which often is slow to make rulings. The Budget Ministry is in the process of establishing an online tax payment system to expand the tax base, decrease opportunities for corruption, and improve fiscal transparency.
https://www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/othr/ics/investmentclimatestatements/inde...

Main sectors of the economy
The main drivers of Côte d’Ivoire’s impressive sustained growth are the economy’s strengths in the agricultural, energy, and mining sectors.
Cote d'Ivoire is the world's largest producer and exporter of cocoa beans and a significant producer and exporter of coffee and palm oil. Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for these products and to climatic conditions.
Cocoa, oil, and coffee are the country's top export revenue earners, but the country has targeted agricultural processing of cocoa, cashews, mangoes, and other commodities as a high priority.
Mining gold and exporting electricity are growing industries outside agriculture.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/iv.html
Côte d’Ivoire’s mining potential is significant, with untapped resources, including gold, copper, iron ore, manganese, bauxite and diamonds. In April 2014, the United Nations Security Council lifted the diamond export ban that had been in place since 2005. Recent oil discoveries have been made in the Gulf of Guinea and major projects are underway to boost the country’s hydroelectric and thermal power capacity.

Numerous business opportunities exist in agribusinesses, especially value-added processing of cocoa, cashews, rubber, cotton, palm oil and rice.
Other opportunities exist in the sale of construction equipment and machinery; power generation and renewable energy; oil, gas and mining exploration; and infrastructure development.
Côte d’Ivoire is a beneficiary country under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

General Market Overview & Trade Statistics:
• Côte d’Ivoire‘s economy grew 7.9% in 2014, with 8.4% growth in 2015;
• Agriculture comprises 30% of economic activity and engages approximately 60-70% of the population. Cocoa production was 1.760 million tons in the 2014/2015 season (the highest in the world), generating approximately $ 2.6 billion in revenue, accounting for about 30% of GDP;
• Oil and gas production, according to Government of Côte d’Ivoire statistics, totaled 7 million barrels of oil and 2.2 billion cubic feet of gas in 2015. Oil and petroleum-related exports generated an estimated $2 billion in revenues in 2015;
• Gold production was 23.5 metric tons in 2015, a 15% increase compared to 2014.
https://www.export.gov/article?id=Cote-d-Ivoire-Market-Overview

The currency is CFA franc.
CFA - "Communaute Financiere Africaine" (African financial community). Frank CFA has been used since 1945.
Frank CFA (currency code XOF) is the single currency of the regional integration association – the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU, fr. – L’Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine UEMOA).
WAEMU members - 8 countries, 7 French-speaking: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, 1 Portuguese-speaking: Guinea-Bissau.
The monetary policy of WAEMU is controlled by a regional bank – the Central Bank of the West African States (fr. Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest – BCEAO), headquartered in Dakar (Senegal); the franc CFA guarantor is the French treasury.
Frank CFA has a fixed exchange rate to the euro:
1 euro = 655,957 CFA francs.
Frank CFA exists in two variants, each with the same parity to the euro: the CFA franc for the countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (currency code XOF) and the CFA franc (currency code XAF) for the countries of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), which consists of 6 members: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon.
Although Central African CFA francs and West African CFA francs have the same monetary value against euro, West African CFA coins and banknotes are not accepted in countries using Central African CFA francs, and vice versa.